This study aims to address the issue of low market penetration of family takaful products by assessing its compatibility in relation to their conventional competitors. Using comparative case studies approach, this study focuses on the Individual Family Takaful vis-a- vis Individual Life Insurance products. The purpose is to identify similarities and differences in product features, attributes and benefits. Based on this exploratory study, it can be concluded that in terms of product concepts, both takaful and the conventional products are quite compatible. However, the conventional products are more competitive, as they are able to provide varieties to the value added features. This study also concludes that takaful products need to be more competitive and innovative in order to cater for the increasingly sophisticated customers who demand more innovative products rather than the generic insurance product.

Zakat is one of the sources of funds available within the Islamic economic and financial systems and has become a part of ijtima’i studies. Although it is obligatory for Muslims to contribute to zakat, however the amount collected is relatively very small compared to the income tax collections. One of the reasons that led to this incident could be the lack of motivation among Muslims. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors affecting individual decisions in zakat contribution hence, provide an understanding of their motivation. In this exploratory study, factor analysis has been used to provide insights into the underlying structure of motivating factors of individuals participating in zakat. Data was collected using a survey questionnaire that was designed based on past studies from both the conventional as well as Islamic literature. The main dimensions were characterised by religious, utilitarian, self satisfaction and organization factors. In the analysis, the factor extraction method used was the principal component method with the Varimax rotation. Principal factor analyses identified five factors that explained 67.32 percent of the variance in the dataset and these were the “altruism”, “level of faith”, “self-satisfaction”, “organization”, and “utilitarian” factors. Further analysis indicates that the “altruism” has the highest score followed by faith (iman), self satisfaction, organization, and utilitarian factors. Based on the sample surveyed, the initial findings indicate that participation in zakat is not only motivated by religious factor but also self-satisfaction and organizational factors. The implication is that the efforts to raise the level of zakat activities should emphasise not only the religious aspect but also the individual’s and organizational dimensions. This may have significant impacts on the personal financial planning and development of Islamic economic systems in general.

The paper examines the issue of disparities between Muslim nations and other countries based on the Human Development Index (HDI) measurement. HDI measures the average progress of a country in human development. It is computed as the composite index of three equally weighted outcome measures: longevity, knowledge and income. This paper briefly discusses the measurements and changes in the calculation of HDI. The status of human development in the Muslim nations will also be addressed. The paper concludes that HDI can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of national policy choices pursued by the government.

Zakat is one of the sources of funds available within the Islamic economic and financia1 systems. Although it is obligatory, the amount collected is relatively very small compared to income tax collections. One of the reasons could be la& of motivation among Muslims. n i e aim of this study is to investigate the factors affecting individual decisions in zakat contribution. In this exploratory study, factor analysis has been used. The main dimensions were characterised by interna1 and external factors. Using the principal component method, principal factor analyses identified five factors. These were the "altruism", "level of faith", "self-satisfaction", and "utilitarian" that represent internal factors, and "organization" dimensions that reflect externa1 factor. Further analysis indicates that the "altruism" has the highest score followed by faith (iman), self satisfaction, organization, and utilitarian factors. Based on the sample surveyed, the initial findings indicate that participation in zakat is not only motivated by internal factors but also the external factors.

This exploratory study examined the activities of the Get-Rich-Quick schemes in Peninsular Malaysia. Its main objective is to understand how the schemes are operated and to study the activities from the syarak point of view. The focus of the study is to understand the motivations, both the participants as well as the promoter, for them to be involved in such schemes. Using interviews and secondary data, following on the case study approach, the study obtained data pertaining to the types, forms and modus operandi of the schemes. In addition, it also examined the economic and psychological impact on the victims. The data were analysed using the content analysis and grounded hypothesis. Despite it is well-known that the schemes possess the elements of fraud and deceptions, yet many people in many places continued to participate and ended up as victims. They do not only lost money and wealth, but also suffer mental anguish. On the other hand, despite contravening the law and the promoters are punishable severely in the court of law, the activities continued to appear within the society. Many of the victims appear to be more prominent, though not exclusively, in the low income group and from a certain racial group - particularly the Bumiputera. The promoter, however, are of various backgrounds. Due to the existence of fraud and deception elements, the schemes are viewed as haram from the syarak perspective. The main motivation for the respondents to participate in the scheme is the urge to get-rich-quick and the convincing approach made by the promoters. Those whose urge to get rich quick appear as an influence by the existing participants. This factor is exarcebated by lack of knowledge about investments and the element of awe among the victims towards the promoter, whose pursuasive skills are said to be very effective and they also used all possible methods to lure and impress upon the victims, including using religious approach. The study suggests a more aggressive "public education" programmes among the public in order to eradicate the unbecoming activities. This should also include using religious approach. It is also suggested that, a program for creating awareness for proper financial planning among the Bumiputra be created. However, a thorough understanding of the aspiration of the Malays is necessay in order to ensure effectiveness of this programme.

This technical report contains cases, namely "ETCS : Touch 'n Go"; "The Roaring Tiger: Relocating Zoo Negara"; and "Usahawan Francais : Antara Mimpi dan Realiti". The case "ETCS: Touch 'n Go" presented an issue relating to the implementation of the government policy on the single electronic toll collection system (ETCS). "The Roaring Tiger: Relocating Zoo Negara" looked at the factors surrounding the discussions to relocate Zoo Negara. While "Usahawan Francais: Antara Mimpi dan Realiti" looked at the challenges facing a small business from a franchisee's perspective. The cases have valuable learning points and together with teaching guides, they could be useful for teaching-learning purposes. However, it must be noted that the cases are written as case research exercises and they are not meant to evaluate good or bad management practices. Any use of the cases and reference to them must be accompanied with written permission of the author(s) concerned.

The main purpose of this research was to study the teaching and learning of Arabic Language in secondary schools in Peninsular Malaysia -problems &problem solving. The teaching of Arabic Language was compared with the teaching of other languages - espeacially Bahasa Malaysia and English Language, on various issues such as the level of importance, the level of interest and the degree of dzfficulties. The perception of the students towards the Arabic language, the pedagogy and the techniques of teaching the language, the textbook, the reference book & the activity book were also examined. The research utilized a studpcase approach using quistionnaire. The sample consisted of l000 student respondents from 40 Islamic Relegious Schools in Peninsular Malaysia. The study found that - in general - the students considered Arabic Language is among the most important languages Besides English and Bahasa Malaysia and considered one of the most dzfficult subjects if the textbooks, the classroom activities, the syllabus and the learning invironment are not well organized and prepared. However the student respondents are very keen to learn Arabic Language without any hassle. Finally the research proposed certain policies and techniques recommendations towards the teaching and learning of Arabic which could help the students, the teachers and theschools in solving the problems that arose during the teaching and learningprosess in the classroom.

Sedekah adalah salah satu intrumen kewangan dan ekonomi Islam yang mempunyai ciri-ciri yang fleksibel dan berbentuk sukarela. Ia boleh dianggap sebagai satu instrumen penyokong and pelengkap (supportive and complementary instrument) bagi instrumen-instrumen yang wajib di dalam Islam seperti zakat, nafkah, kaffarah dan lain-lain. Hikmah di sebalik kebaikan dan kesan positif instrumen ini adalah terlalu luas dan tidak semuanya dapat dikumpulkan di dalam artikel yang singkat ini. Bahkan, sebahagian besar kesan positif sedekah tidak dapat digambarkan dalam bentuk nombor atau kuantiti kerana ia bukan sahaja meliputi kesan ekonomi dan kewangan, bahkan meliputi kesan kerohanian, sosial, keberkatan dan lain-lain.

This paper evaluates and analyses contents on several selected journals on Islamic economics and finance in Malaysia between 1977-3003. A brief introduction on the purpose, importance and structure of the journals are highlighted followed by its history, within the first part of the article. This paper also covers the background of the journals, the methodology and the reviews the relevant articles. Apart from that descriptive statistics concerning the classification of field of study of study each journal and subtopics of articles reviewed were also presented. A brief contents analysis of Islamic economics system, Islamic finance and banking, Islamic economic development and Islamic management articles were discussed to examine its prospect for research in the future. This review found that the scope and areas of interest, as indicated by the publications are narrow and few. This paper concludes with a discussion on the needs to proliferate the research and publication in the areas of Islamic banking and finance, Islamic economics and Islamic management.